Ayame had been looking for the legendary artifact known as Gungnir, which was a formidable weapon with the ability to bestow immortality upon its wielder. 

As she faced off against the terrorists with nothing more than her handgun, a Colt 1911, her eyes were filled with rage and determination as she fought back.

Ayame took out the assailants one at a time despite the hail of bullets that rained down around her. She did not show any mercy, as her sole focus was on locating the artifact Gungnir. 

Users of Gungnir gain extraordinary resiliency as a side effect, which enables them to recover from virtually any situation. 

Once, Ayame was completely obliterated by the explosion of a nuclear weapon; however, she was able to survive the experience.

Additionally, she rode Gungnir and flew at the speed of sound, colliding with a variety of tall buildings and causing them to crumble to the ground. 

Her body was in such a mangled state that it appeared as though she had just jumped off the roof of a skyrise building and landed on the ground if Earth had no terminal velocity. 

However, afterward, it was as if nothing had happened because her body had simply regenerated itself.

She will immediately know the person who took Gungnir the moment they recover from a bullet wound.

Ayame launched herself into the village even as bullets from the adversary whizzed past her. 

As she charged through their ranks, shooting and killing the terrorists at breakneck speed, they were completely unprepared for what was about to happen. 

She was an unstoppable force of nature, with movements that were precise and an aim that was lethally accurate.  

The gunmen made a valiant effort to defend themselves against her assault, but their efforts were ultimately fruitless. 

Even back then, when she did not have Meikyo Shisui’s perceptual acceleration, Ayame had already proven herself to be a master of firearms. 

Each and every one of her shots were right on target. 

The sound of gunfire finally subsided after what seemed like an eon had passed. Ayame had successfully eliminated all of the terrorists and was now standing atop a pile of dead bodies with a gun that was still smoking from the barrel.

Ayame searched the entire village in an attempt to locate the artifact Gungnir, but she was unsuccessful. 

She was on the verge of giving up when she saw a glint of metal coming from underneath a heap of debris. 

Ayame carefully moved some of the debris out of the way in order to locate the artifact.

The thing in question was not an artifact.

Ayame was fuming with rage. She spent hours looking through the entire village but found nothing. 

She had been so close to discovering the artifact Gungnir, but in the end, she came up empty.

“GODDAMN IT!! FUCK!!!” 

She was so enraged that she took it out on the closest thing to her—the wall of the house she was in at the time. 

She started punching and kneeing it multiple times, and her rage grew with each blow that she landed. 

Then all of a sudden, she threw her elbow at the wall, and the building started to fall apart. 

Ayame made a hasty exit from the house just as it was beginning to cave in under its own weight.

She lay on her back, focusing her attention on the sky while she took deep breaths. 

She had been unsuccessful once more, and she was worn out beyond belief. 

Her body had begun to shut down as a result of exhaustion.

Ayame eventually gave up and ripped her portal slip, which she had taken out of her pocket.

A tear in the fabric of space and time appeared in front of Ayame, and she walked straight through it without turning around.

She emerged from the rift and immediately found herself at the Eclipse military outpost in the South Pacific. 

She looked up to see Lin Feng standing in front of her alongside several other mercenaries she had never seen before.

“Ayame, where have you been?” Lin Feng asked.

Ayame gripped her fists tightly, and tears began to well up in her eyes. 

“I failed,” she said simply. 

“Tell the old woman I failed” She let out a long sigh before averting her gaze.

Lin Feng embraced her in a hug. “Don’t worry about it, Ayame. There is not a single mission that is simple. You are fortunate that you did not come back with any injuries.” 

Ayame pushed him away and turned her gaze to the night sky, which was filled with stars. 

Even though she had been unsuccessful in her search for Gungnir, her spirit was still burning with the determination to succeed.

“I need some time alone. Call me on the phone if something urgent comes up,” she declared. 

After finishing her sentence, Ayame turned and walked in the direction of the barracks. 

Lin Feng felt an overwhelming sense of loss as he watched her leave. He was aware of the amount of effort that she had put into this mission, and he wished there was more that he could do to be of assistance to her. 

He took one final look around the camp before turning away and walking in the opposite direction towards his office in the administrative building that was contained within Eclipse’s walls.

Ayame spent the ensuing few days either working out in her room, eating in the canteen, practicing in the training area, or staring up at the night sky while lying on her back in the field until she was contacted by Lin Feng. 

“Ayame, the Glorious Platform is going to open its doors today. “Please make it a priority to visit my office as soon as you can,” he urged before hanging up the phone.

When Ayame arrived at the office, she discovered that it was already jam-packed with high-ranking military officials and other mercenaries. 

When she saw Lin Feng, he smiled at her and pointed in the direction of an elevator that was located in the far corner of the room. 

“Follow me,” He said. Ayame accompanied him inside, and then the two of them descended into what appeared to be some kind of laboratory.

A circular apparatus was placed in front of Ayame and the others as they worked in the laboratory. Lin Feng could be seen typing something into the computer that was nearby.

The circular device started glowing brighter and brighter until it looked like it had transformed into some kind of portal. 

“Let’s go.” Lin Feng said as he entered the portal, and Ayame immediately followed behind him.

They both found themselves on an island that was suspended in the air. When viewed from the ground, it was completely hidden.

“So this is the Glorious Platform.” Ayame was at a loss for words. This location had an otherworldly vibe to it, similar to the cavern where Ayame had discovered Gungnir.

She faced Lin Feng and asked, “So what am I supposed to do now that I know?”

“Do you see that spot way over there?” He was pointing in the direction of an obelisk that was located in the north. “That’s the Demon Incitement Tower. Do you see those staircases that wind around the tower in the shape of a helix?”  

He continued, saying, “Your cultivation will advance each time you step into one, but you will have to fight monsters each time you step upwards.”

If you continue along that path, you will eventually reach the Heavenly Essence Pool as well as the Heavenly Essence Tree.” He pointed to an area in the south. 

“All you have to do is relax in the water, and your cultivation will gradually advance. 

You won’t have to engage in combat there, so you can stay there for a much longer period of time than in the Demon Incitement Tower. It’s more suitable for cultivation. 

The Heavenly Essence Tree can be found in the middle of the pool; the closer you are to it, the more quickly your cultivation will advance.” 

As Ayame took in everything that Lin Feng had shared with her, she gave a slight nod of her head. After that, she turned her attention to the east and posed the question, “What about that way?” 

“That is the Field of Immortality, a live combat training area, and while you are there, you cannot be killed. However, you will feel the pain and the death.” He said while giving the tiniest hint of a smirk.  

“It seems like a really cool place to hang out.”

While Lin Feng went in a different direction, Ayame set foot in the direction of the Heavenly Essence Pond.

Ayame gave in to her curiosity and submerged herself in the Heavenly Essence Pond. As a result, her qi increased in a way that was unprecedented. 

In spite of the fact that she had not activated the gathering technique contained within the Divine Origin Manual, her qi continued to grow at a much faster rate than before. 

Now that she doesn’t have to worry about running out of qi or having to alternately activate gathering and refinement techniques, she can put all of her attention into utilizing the refinement technique.

Ayame muttered to herself as she activated the refinement technique of the Asura Warpath Sutra, “I have no choice but to begin core development right away.”

 

55%

62%

70%

83%

92%

100%

 

Within the span of just one hour, she was able to overcome the obstacle that had been preventing her from making further progress in her cultivation. She had progressed through the Initial Stage of the Spirit Desolation Realm and was now in the Intermedial Stage.

Ayame muttered under her breath, “The spiritual energy here is really dense. If I remain in this location for a week, I probably have a chance to advance to the Terminal Stage of the Spirit Enlightenment Realm.”